"They have been offered 11pc over two years. That is more than nurses, it is more than teachers, it is more than police officers - it is much more.

"All that is asked in return is modernisation of plainly outdated practices.

"The offer came out of the independent review by George Bain, the man who headed the commission that introduced the minimum wage, and who sat with two others - one from local government, the other last year's president of the Trade Union Congress, himself a trade union leader.

"The idea that such a review therefore was biased in some way is palpably absurd.

"We, all of us in this House, I hope, pay tribute to the hard and sometimes dangerous work that firefighters do.

He said no government with inflation at around 2pc could yield to a wage claim of 40pc; if they did, they would have to do the same for teachers, nurses and police officers.

"Even now I hope, after this 48-hour stoppage, common sense will prevail," he said.